Anna La Torre
@latorrelab.bsky.social
📤 881
📥 357
📝 135
DevBiol, retinas, miRNAs, stem cells & more.
https://latorrelab.faculty.ucdavis.edu
Lassen Peak has a giant eye-shaped rock formation!
#VulcansEye
#LassenNationalPark
16 days ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy
about 1 month ago
We're very proud of our (very soon to be) graduates! Congratulations, Miranda, Joseph, and Olivia!
#UCDavisCommencement
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A career highlight: being voted "Mentor of the Year" by our graduate students. I'm genuinely touched by this recognition and grateful to work with such an exceptional group of trainees every day ❤️
about 2 months ago
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and we got the cover!!
2 months ago
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Excited to share our new paper! This work explores how Sonic hedgehog signaling helps coordinate retinal patterning and neurogenesis, including regulation of both cell cycle exit and progenitor competence during mammalian eye development
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
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Roles of sonic hedgehog signaling in retinal patterning and neurogenesis during mammalian eye development
Summary: Temporal disruption of sonic hedgehog signaling reveals stage-specific roles in eye cup patterning and in regulating proliferation, progenitor competence and fate specification during retinal...
https://journals.biologists.com/dev/article/153/9/dev205143/371626/Roles-of-sonic-hedgehog-signaling-in-retinal
2 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Crystal Rogers, PhD
2 months ago
Did you know that
@intlsocdiff.bsky.social
is offering travel awards up to $1000 for non ISD meetings in 2026? Membership fee for students is $0 and only $50 for regular members! If you have an accepted abstract to present at a meeting- please apply!
www.isdifferentiation.org/Membership/P...
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Eric Cartman Says One Thousand Dollars
Alt: Eric Cartman Says One Thousand Dollars
https://static.klipy.com/ii/39f2394ae36df6e199be9eb7c9fa1012/20/7a/kRDRknts.gif?hh=498&ww=498&mp4=Ih5dXgRyCP8HBfT2A&webm=tfzJxocLzkmuqm
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#ARVO2026
was fantastic! I’m really honored to have been elected to the AMPC and STOKED to serve alongside one of my favorite scientist (and human),
@blockintheback.bsky.social
2 months ago
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@ucd-cbha.bsky.social
was very well represented at
#ARVO2026
!
2 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Revathi Balasubramanian
2 months ago
For me, this signals the start of fun science at
#ARVO
❤️
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Happy
#SantJordi
to everyone! In Catalonia, today is a day for roses and books, but it's more than that, it's a stubborn, beautiful way of keeping our culture alive. Feliç Sant Jordi!
3 months ago
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Our new paper is out! 🎉 Let-7 doesn’t act through a single pathway: it controls neocortical neuron fate and migration via distinct downstream mechanisms, with RBX2 dedicated to migration. A new layer of post-transcriptional control shaping cortical development
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2528396123
3 months ago
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Happy
#PicnicDay
!
@ucdavis.bsky.social
3 months ago
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It's
#FluorescenceFriday
and these retinal astrocytes understood the assignment: branching, glowing, and casually laying down the blueprint for the retinal vasculature
#Retina
#ConfocalMicroscopy
3 months ago
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Today on the animals with fascinating eyes news of the day: Anableps anableps, a four-eyed fish (they really have 2 eyes, but still):
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
.
3 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Dr Kathleen Millen
4 months ago
Damn it. NIH ends continuous submission policy for reviewers on study sections. Can still use 2 week late submission deadline but continuous submission was one of the only good things about being on regular study sections. Reviews are a huge amount of work. It will be harder to get reviewers. BAD
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This is a fantastic meeting for all the neurogenesis aficionados! Happening July 13-16 in Toronto, don’t miss it!!
event.fourwaves.com/neurogenesis...
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Neurogenesis and Repair 2026
Join Neurogenesis and Repair 2026, July 13-16, 2026. Learn more on Fourwaves.
https://event.fourwaves.com/neurogenesis-and-repair-2026/pages
3 months ago
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Two Scientists walk into a bar and they meet with Deepak Lamba!!
www.gene.com/stories/the-...
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The Wild World of Eyeballs
Featuring Deepak Lamba, Director and Distinguished Scientist, Ophthalmology, and Susie Crowell, Senior Director, Project Team Leader.
https://www.gene.com/stories/the-wild-world-of-eyeballs?topic=two-scientists-walk-into-a-bar&mc_cid=ef099018e1
4 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Dr. Brittany J. Carr
4 months ago
Looking through old photos and found this beauty. Frog rods, labelled with GFP under a XOP promoter (inner segment, orange) and wheat germ agglutinin (outer segments, cyan). I love how you can see the holes where the mitochondria are packed near the top of the inner segment (the ellipsoid zone). 🧪🐸
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New paper out! 🚨 We show that Ndufs4 loss triggers retinal neurodegeneration through a phased process. A new window into neuroimmune mechanisms in mitochondrial disease:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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Cell-intrinsic vulnerability and immune activation cooperate to drive degeneration in a mitochondrial complex I deficiency model of optic neuropathy - Journal of Neuroinflammation
Journal of Neuroinflammation - Mitochondrial dysfunction is a central hallmark of many optic neuropathies, yet the mechanisms linking intrinsic metabolic stress to retinal ganglion cell (RGC)...
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12974-026-03707-4
4 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Bob Johnston
4 months ago
Love eyes? Love awesome science? Love fantastic colleagues? Join us in Maine on August 9-14 for the GRC Visual System Development Conference! It's one of the best!
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Alice Accorsi
7 months ago
I am very excited to share the first Accorsi lab publication: a collection of detailed protocols to maintain an apple snail 🐌 colony and generate stable mutant lines. The video is coming soon @ JoVE! We hope this will be a valuable resource for the community.
app.jove.com/t/69267/the-...
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The Golden Apple Snail Pomacea canaliculata: From Zygotes to Stable Mutant Lines
University of California, Davis. This study developed a workflow for the generation and maintenance of stable mutant lines for the freshwater apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata. The protocols include ...
https://app.jove.com/t/69267/the-golden-apple-snail-pomacea-canaliculata-from-zygotes-to-stable
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Bob Johnston
5 months ago
I'm excited to share our PNAS paper from 1st author Kasia Hussey. We study how the foveola, the high acuity region of the retina, is patterned by RA and TH. We were surprised to find that cone subtypes appear to convert fates. Our studies are important for AMD sufferers.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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A cell fate specification and transition mechanism for human foveolar cone subtype patterning | PNAS
In the central region of the human retina, the high-acuity foveola is notable for its dense packing of green (M) and red (L) cones and absence of b...
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2510799123
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Elisa Zhang, Ph.D.
9 months ago
🚨 We are recruiting postdocs! If you're interested in reproductive, stem cell/developmental biology, and/or women's health, please apply! 📝 Please repost! 🚩 More info here:
hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
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Postdoctoral Scientist - Zhang Lab
Primary Work Address: One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616 Current HHMI Employees, click here to apply via your Workday account. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) advances the discovery and s...
https://hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/details/Postdoctoral-Scientist---Zhang-Lab_R-3923
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I love it when cool science reaches the mainstream media.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/s...
.
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The Rise of Eyes Began With Just One
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/science/evolution-vertebrate-eye.html#:~:text=Origins-,The%20Rise%20of%20Eyes%20Began%20With%20Just%20One,single%20eye%20atop%20the%20head.&text=Look%20at%20just%20about%20any,eyes%20looking%20back%20at%20you
5 months ago
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Check out this beautiful new story from
@michelcayouette.bsky.social
lab!!! We got to play a small part along the way. So thrilled to see this out in the world!
add a skeleton here at some point
5 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Crystal Rogers, PhD
6 months ago
Please check out these amazing women! They are fantastic scientists, committed mentors, supportive friends and honestly super stars! 🤩@bradylabs.bsky.social
@mydennis.bsky.social
@ucdavis.bsky.social
www.ucdavis.edu/news/podcast...
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2 First-Gen Scientists on Curiosity, Community and Discovery
Megan Dennis, associate professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, and Siobhan Brady, professor in the Department of Plant Biology and the Genome Center, are more than an just office neighbors ...
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/podcasts-and-shows/face-to-face/how-federal-research-funding-powers-scientific-discovery-and-mentorship
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Kai Caspar
6 months ago
Birds have a thick retina devoid of blood vessels - so how do they ensure sufficient oxygen availability? They don't - neurons rely on glycolysis, metabolizing glucose released from the pecten. Insane new study that includes comparative data on lizards and crocs.🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Oxygen-free metabolism in the bird inner retina supported by the pecten - Nature
While the photoreceptor outer segments in the bird outer retina have access to oxygen, the inner retina operates under chronic anoxia, supported by anaerobic glycolysis in the retinal neurons.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09978-w
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Congratulations to
@xinduan.bsky.social
on another beautiful story! I'm very lucky to collaborate with you!
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41532830/
6 months ago
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Thankful for my lab and for my community, I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to do science and life with. Happy Thanksgiving!
8 months ago
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Just a heads up: I just got a phishing attempt pretending to be from the
#VisualSystemDevelopment
#GRC
. It looked pretty convincing at first glance, so be careful!
8 months ago
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The lab made it to
#SfN25
!
8 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Joel Miesfeld
9 months ago
Are you or do you know a current undergraduate student who wants to pursue research? Our Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) application is now open! (reposting from the MCW Grad school X account) Apply here:
admissions.mcw.edu/register/sum...
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Michel Cayouette
9 months ago
Our latest paper is out! While the circadian photoentrainment circuit has been extensively studied, the mechanisms regulating its development remain poorly understood. Here we show that retinal Müller glia play a key role in this process. Check it out!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Retinal glia regulate development of the circadian photoentrainment circuit
Circadian photoentrainment depends on intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), which convey environmental light information to th…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725012355?via%3Dihub
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Fantastic new paper from
@pierre-mattar.bsky.social
lab!
add a skeleton here at some point
9 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Crystal Rogers, PhD
9 months ago
Our department
@ucdavisvetmed.bsky.social
@ucdavis.bsky.social
is hiring! We welcome research that diversifies or complements existing strengths in gastrointestinal, neuroimmune, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory systems and/or developmental biology.
@socdevbio.bsky.social
@ascbiology.bsky.social
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Grateful to the Glaucoma Research Foundation (
Glaucoma.org
) for bringing the Catalyst for a Cure teams together to discuss strategies for neurodegenerative disorders:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
9 months ago
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A very important resource!
add a skeleton here at some point
9 months ago
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It's
#FluorescenceFriday
!
9 months ago
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New preprints from the lab (3)!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
9 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Molly McKew
10 months ago
I am reminded tonight how important it is for women to be inspired by other brave, pioneering women as I watch dozens and dozens of women post gift links to Jane Goodall obituaries and articles Keep it up, ladies.
add a skeleton here at some point
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#FluorescenceFriday
: a weekly reminder that behind the data, there are moments of pure wonder. This is why we do what we do. And the
#retina
is so uniquely beautiful!
10 months ago
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New preprints from the lab!! (2)
add a skeleton here at some point
10 months ago
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🎉 New preprints from the lab! (1)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Novel Roles of Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Retinal Patterning and Neurogenesis During Mammalian Eye Development
The Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway is essential for the patterning, growth, and morphogenesis of many tissues. During early eye development, Shh is critical for the formation of the two optic ...
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.19.671114v1
10 months ago
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@ucdavis.bsky.social
had a great representation at the BAVRD!
add a skeleton here at some point
10 months ago
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Exciting news! Dr. Marie Burns has been appointed the new Director of the Center for Neuroscience, and it's hard to imagine a better choice for this position!
@ucdaviscns.bsky.social
@ucdavis.bsky.social
@ucd-cbha.bsky.social
11 months ago
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Such beautiful work!
add a skeleton here at some point
11 months ago
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Our National Parks are treasures and we they need more than visitors, they need funding! Btw,
#lassenvolcanicnationalpark
is magical 💚
11 months ago
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Stowers Institute
11 months ago
Snails with human-like eyes?! Published in
@natcomms.nature.com
, the
@planaria1.bsky.social
&
@accorsi-alice.bsky.social
Labs have established apple snails as a novel model for studying vision restoration. They have complex camera-type eyes & the ability to regrow them in 28 days:
bit.ly/4mvaxkq
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reposted by
Anna La Torre
Dr. Sara Thomasy (she/hers)
11 months ago
Congrats to @GGIPstudents and COVSL member Dr. Erin Hisey and her mentor @bcleonard on completing her exit seminar for her PhD! The future is super bright for her as she returns to complete her DVM @ucdavisvetmed.🍾🎉🎈#visionscience
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Joseph is about to give a talk on his Hi-C data 🧃
12 months ago
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